WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – The District of Columbia has filed a complaint against Sanford Capital for multiple alleged housing law violations, Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced.
Sanford Capital owns a rent-controlled apartment complex in Congress Heights, an area that’s set to become a future mixed-used development, according to Racine's office. Racine’s complaint states that Sanford Capital allowed unsafe and unsanitary conditions to exist at the complex.
“We believe the owners of these buildings have done a serious disservice to their residents and have violated the District’s housing laws through willful neglect,” Racine said. “Preserving affordable housing for all of the District’s residents and protecting public safety are two of our highest priorities at the office of the attorney general. The owners of these buildings have undermined both of those priorities, and we intend to hold them accountable.”
The suit cites allegedly persistent problems like missing smoke detectors, inoperable fire extinguishers, bedbug and rodent infestations, unstable ceilings, lack of heat and hot water and other issues. According to the District’s complaint, the owners have done little to fix any of these issues.